Blinken had a “fruitful” conversation with Europeans over Iran’s nuclear deal

Humeyra by Pamuk and William James

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a “fruitful” meeting with members of Britain, Germany and France on Friday to discuss talks on Iran’s nuclear deal, a State Department spokesman said on Saturday.

World powers and Iran on Thursday began talks to revive the nuclear treaty. A European source said they were working on the texts discussed five months ago, while the Iranian authorities maintained last week’s tough stance.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that Tehran was serious about talks with world powers in Vienna, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Cross-border talks between the United States and Iran, where diplomats from France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China are shuffling between them because Tehran denies direct relations with Washington, aiming for the two sides to resume full compliance with the agreement.

“Secretary Blink had a fruitful meeting with his E3 members in Germany, France and the United Kingdom yesterday in Liverpool. Action.

The meeting took place in the northern English city of Liverpool on the eve of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, and Iran is expected to issue a joint call to moderate its nuclear program and take advantage of talks in Vienna. [L1N2SW06E]

Under the original nuclear deal, which was suspended by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, Iran has curtailed its nuclear program in exchange for easing sanctions on the United States, the European Union and the UN.

The West fears that the program will be used to develop weapons, something Tehran denies.